Teen cop impersonator has done this before

January 27, 2009|By Chicago Tribune

The 14-year-old Chicago boy charged with impersonating a Chicago police officer had been arrested at least once before for the same thing, according to the minister who acted as the boy's temporary guardian last year.

Roosevelt Watkins, pastor of the Bethlehem Star Missionary Baptist Church at 9231 S. Cottage Grove Ave., said the first incident occurred in December 2007 and the second in December 2008.

In the first incident, Watkins said, the boy was arrested at 63d Street and Racine Avenue after he asked police to give him a ride to the nearby Englewood District station because he was reporting for duty. The officers asked him for his date of birth, but the boy couldn't come up with an answer and was arrested.

The second time, Watkins said the boy was stopped by police at the Ford City shopping mall, where he was walking around in full uniform. Police records do not show any record of him being arrested after this incident.

Watkins said that the boy had been involved in "a police explorers" program in the Grand Crossing Districtfor about 18 months but was removed from the program after the December 2007 incident. He said the boy loved police shows on TV and played video games that had police themes.

Watkins attended a crowded juvenile court hearing for the boy Monday, where Judge Andrew Berman accepted a not-guilty plea, ordered a clinical evaluation of the boy and sent him back to detention. He also scheduled another court date for Feb. 27.

Watkins said he agreed with the judge's actions, adding that he hopes the court will place him with a guardian instead of keeping him in detention.

"Sometimes he does not think everything through when he's thinking about the consequences facing his actions," Watkins added.